1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive vehicular service equipment and more particularly to a mounting system and method therefor for mounting a vehicular wheel alignment instrument in conjunction with the wheels of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Proper alignment of vehicle wheels is necessary for smooth vibration-free handling of the vehicle and also so the vehicle doesn't have a tendency to drift one way or another on the road. Also, proper alignment of vehicle wheels is a necessary component for even tire wear. To accomplish vehicular alignment, it is necessary to establish the position of certain measurements in conjunction with each vehicle wheel. These measurements are camber, caster, steering axis inclination, and toe.
Typical present day alignment instruments utilize placing a separate alignment instrument (sensor) on each vehicular wheel. Each instrument has an emitter and a receiver. The emitter emits a signal which is transmitted to the receiver of another alignment instrument. The receiver will convert the signal into a value which is indicative of the corresponding alignment angle of the vehicle. This information can then be used by the mechanic to adjust the aforementioned measurements in order to achieve the correct and necessary alignment for the vehicular wheels.
Alignment instruments that are in widespread present day usage are normally mounted onto the tire rim of the vehicular wheel. Tire rims sometimes may be damaged and may be slightly out of round or may be slightly inclined relative to the wheel hub. Such damage frequently occurs by the tire and the rim coming into hard contact with an uneven roadway, such as a chuckhole or a curb. Using of the alignment instrument in conjunction with the tire rim does not achieve an accurate alignment because the rim itself is not correctly aligned relative to the wheel hub on which it is mounted.
Additionally, most tire rims, in years past, have been manufactured with an annular raised lip located directly adjacent the peripheral edge of the tire rim. The alignment instruments have been constructed to utilize that annular raised lip to mount the instrument onto the tire rim. Currently, some tire rims are no longer being manufactured with this annular raised lip. Therefore, there is no way to mount the alignment instrument onto the tire rim. The result is the mechanic doing the alignment just does a lot of “fudging” or “speculating” and guesses at what he or she hopes will be a correct alignment. The result is the alignment is of poor quality and proper handling of the vehicle is not obtained. Uneven tire wear is also obtained.